STOCKING WEARING AID

Abstract

Quarter-cylindrical bodies are attached to two opposing edges of a rectangular flat body, respectively so as to form a cylindrical part, the rectangular flat body is covered with a sacklike body, and other end of the sacklike body is used as a manually-operated strap. A stocking is preliminary set on the cylindrical bodies, a user throws the cylindrical bodies covered with the stocking forward, and inserts the tiptoe into the cylindrical bodies while manually pulling the sacklike body and the end of the strap. The user can wear the stocking by further manually pulling the sacklike body and the end of the strap. In addition, a meshing mechanism is provided on opposing edges of the cylindrical bodies to facilitate setting the stocking and wearing of the stocking.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an aid that enables a user to wear a stocking easily while having fun.

BACKGROUND ART

An aid that enables an elderly or walking-disabled person to easily wear stockings is desired since it is often difficult for such person to wear stockings. Various ideas have been conventionally proposed for aids of this type.

By way of example, there is known an invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-125326. However, the invention is configured to include many springs, hard and long plates as well as many other parts. Due to this, the aid is inevitably heavy and poor in operability and possibly harms the Furthermore, since one stocking is sandwiched between left and right sides, it is disadvantageously necessary to use a pair of aids and simultaneously manipulate the paired aids in order to wear one stocking.

Moreover, a little child or school child often hates to wear stockings because the child wants to run around with bare feet. Due to this, some caregivers find difficulties in urging such a little child or school child to wear stockings every day. Further, some elderly persons are so self-helpful that they want to at least wear stockings by themselves even though they require nursing care.

It is favorable if such a person can use an aid that enables him or her in such situations to easily wear stockings while having fun.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The present invention has been made under the above-stated circumstances and it is an object of the present invention to provide a stocking wearing aid that is small in the number of constituent parts and that enables a person to use the aid easily.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an aid that enables an elderly person, a walking-disabled person or even a little or school child to easily wear a stocking while having fun.

Means for Solving the Problems

There is provided a stocking wearing aid wherein quarter-cylindrical bodies are attached to two opposing edges of a rectangular flat body, respectively so as to form a cylindrical part, the rectangular flat body is covered with a sacklike body, and other end of the sacklike body is used as a manually-operated strap.

According to this aid, a stocking is covered up on the cylindrical bodies and set, a user throws a stocking part forward while gripping the sacklike body and the end of the strap, the user inserts the tiptoe into the cylindrical bodies while manually pulling the sacklike body and the end of the strap, and the user further manually pulls the sacklike body and the strap ends. By doing so, the user can wear the stocking.

When the stocking is to be covered up on the cylindrical bodies of the aid, a diameter of the cylindrical part formed by the cylindrical bodies is set smaller in advance. After the stocking is covered up on the cylindrical bodies, the diameter of the cylindrical part is set larger, the opposing edges of the cylindrical bodies are meshed with each other, and the diameter of the cylindrical part is kept large. This facilitates the user wearing the stocking.

The sacklike body covered up on the rectangular flat body is decorated with an appliqué, a pattern of a popular character or the like for a little or school child, a design suitable for elderly persons for an elderly person or the like. It is thereby possible for the user to wear the stocking easily while having fun.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

The user can use the aid safely since the number of constituent parts is small and a hard material that possibly harms the user's body is not at all used.

The stocking wearing aid according to the present invention enables the user to wear a stocking quite easily as follows.

The stocking is set onto the aid in advance as shown in FIG. 4. This setting operation is simple. Alternatively, a caretaker or caregiver can set the stocking in advance.

When the user is to wear the stocking, the user throws a stocking part forward while gripping the sacklike body and the end of the strap (FIG. 5), inserts the tiptoe into the cylindrical bodies while manually pulling the sacklike body and the end of the strap (FIG. 6), and further manually pulls the sacklike body and the end of the strap (FIGS. 7 and 8), whereby the user is completed with wearing the stocking. The operation of manual pulling can be performed even with a single hand.

At this time, if the user sits on a chair or the like, the user can perform wearing operation more easily.

If the stocking is set in advance, the user can use the aid at desired time, which is particularly convenient for the caregiver having a hectic day of taking care of a little or school child.

Moreover, the aid is simple and small in size and decorated. Due to this, the aid brings about no obstacle even if being put at a location where the user and the others live ordinary lives and the user does not need to care for where to store the aid.

Furthermore, it is quite easy even for the little or school child to perform the behavior of manually pulling the sacklike body of the aid and the end of the strap. The operation itself is also a pleasant motion. In addition, if the aid is decorated with a pattern of a popular cartoon, a popular character or the like, the user can positively wear a stocking while having more fun.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a stocking wearing aid according to embodiment 1 (a first embodiment);

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a stocking wearing aid according to embodiment 2 (a second embodiment);

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a meshing mechanism provided on opposing edges of cylindrical bodies;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state of setting a stocking onto the stocking wearing aid;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state of throwing the stocking wearing aid forward when a user is to wear a stocking using the stocking wearing aid;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state of inserting a tiptoe into cylindrical bodies of the stocking wearing aid;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of starting to manually pull the stocking wearing aid; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the stocking wearing aid starts to be displaced from the stocking, shank and calf.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

• • 10 Stocking wearing aid
  • 11 Cylindrical body (1)
  • 12 Cylindrical body (2)
  • 13 Rectangular flat body
  • 15 Sacklike body
  • 20 Stocking

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a stocking wearing aid according to embodiment 1 (a first embodiment) of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a stocking wearing aid according to embodiment 2 (a second embodiment) of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a meshing mechanism provided on opposing edges of cylindrical bodies.

FIG. 4 shows a state of setting a stocking onto the stocking wearing aid according to the present invention.

FIGS. 5 to 8 show a process of user's wearing the stocking using the stocking wearing aid according to the present invention.

Cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 each close to a quarter-circle are attached to two opposing edges of a rectangular flat body 13, respectively so as to oppose each other and to form a cylindrical part. The cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 oppose each other with a gap kept therebetween. A shape of the rectangular flat body may be a shape (shown in FIG. 1) corresponding to a sole of a normally used slipper or may be a rectangle as shown in FIG. 2. Further, it suffices to use only one aid since the aid can be used for both left and right stockings. It suffices to use a material of the normally used slipper as a material used for the rectangular flat body.

Shapes of the cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 are decided while considering a shape of a tiptoe part. However, the shapes are decided also in consideration of a shape of a shank part since a stocking 20 passes through the shank part when a user wears the stocking 20. Furthermore, a material and the shapes of the cylindrical bodies are decided so that the cylindrical bodies oppose each other with the gap kept therebetween when the aid is not used, and so as to be able to hold the shape of the part into which the tiptoe is inserted without gap when setting of the stocking is over (FIG. 4). The cylindrical bodies are halves formed by dividing a portion of the normally used slipper covered up on a foot into two. Therefore, the material of the slipper is insufficient for the material used for the cylindrical bodies and a thicker material having higher rigidity is used for the cylindrical bodies. Moreover, higher strength is required for portions of the cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 which portions are attached to the rectangular flat body 13 compared to the normally used slipper.

To facilitate holding the state, a meshing mechanism, for example, is preferably provided on the cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 as shown in FIG. 3. Specifically, when the stocking 20 is to be covered up on the cylindrical part of the aid, a diameter of the cylindrical part is set smaller in advance. After covering up the stocking 20 on the cylindrical part of the aid, the diameter of the cylindrical part is set larger (a state shown in FIG. 3), and the opposing edges of the cylindrical bodies are meshed with each other while keeping the diameter of the cylindrical part large. This can facilitate user's wearing the stocking.

When the rectangular flat body 13 is covered to form a sack shape (which state will be referred to as “sacklike body 15”, hereinafter), the state is shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 may be covered with the sacklike body 15 (FIG. 2). It is rather preferable to cover the cylindrical bodies with the sacklike body 15 since this makes the user's foot more slippery on the aid and the aid is decoratively superior. A portion of the sacklike body 15 with which the user's foot contacts is preferably made of a material having low friction and high slipperiness.

The sacklike body 15 can be appropriately decorated with a pattern of a popular cartoon, a popular character or the like for a little or school child, or decorated with a pattern suitable for an elderly person (not shown in detail).

When the user is to wear the stocking 20, the stocking is covered up on the cylindrical bodies 11 and 12 as shown in FIG. 4, and the user throws the cylindrical part covered with the stocking forward while gripping the sacklike body 15 and the end of a strap 17 (FIG. 5). Then the user inserts the tiptoe into the cylindrical bodies while manually pulling the sacklike body and the end of the strap (FIG. 6), and the user further manually pulls the strap (FIG. 7). As a result, the user's foot slides within the cylindrical bodies, departs from the stocking wearing aid 10 together with the stocking, and the stocking wearing aid is soon displaced from the shank and calf (FIG. 8), thereby the user is completed with a series of operation. Since the operation for manually pulling the end of the strap is simple and does not require so strong power, the user can perform the operation even single-handed.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Since the present invention aids in a behavior essential for ordinary life, that is, wearing of the stocking, the applicable field of the invention is wide, and it is possible to lessen the labor of a caregiver of a little or school child. Further, it is effective to make an elderly person independent, and it is possible to lessen the burden of a caretaker. Therefore, industrial applicability of the present invention is quite high.

Furthermore, if the present invention is made a commercial reality, the invention helps reenergizing small manufacturers and is, therefore, industrially useful.

Claims

1. A stocking wearing aid wherein quarter-cylindrical bodies are attached to two opposing edges of a rectangular flat body, respectively so as to form a cylindrical part, the rectangular flat body is covered with a sacklike body, and other end of the sacklike body is used as a manually-operated strap.

2. The stocking wearing aid according to claim 1, wherein a meshing mechanism is provided on opposing edges of the quarter-cylindrical bodies.