Protective hand-wiping frontal garment

Abstract

A protective hand-wiping garment for a user that has first and second leg portions adapted to fit over an upper frontal area of the user's legs. Each of the leg portions having an upper end and a lower end. The lower end of the leg portions, respectively, having lengths that are designed to be just above the knee of the average size user. The garment also has a belt portion connected to the upper end of the first and second leg portions for securing the garment around the user's waist. One or more fastening straps are positioned on the garment for fastening the first leg portion around one leg of the user and one or more fastening straps for fastening the second leg portion around a second leg of the user. It is preferred that there are at least one strap per leg for fastening each of the leg portions around the thigh just above the knees. A hand-wiping portion is positioned on one or both of the first and/or second leg portions so that it will cover the thigh area on the frontal area of the user. The user can wipe his or her hands on the thigh-wiping region without ruining their pants or endangering their skin with chemicals that if wiped directly on the pants might seep through and injure the skin.

Description

This application claims priority of provisional application Ser. No. 61/627,804 filed Oct. 18, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a frontal below the waist garment for use in construction, painting, cooking, gardening or other working environments to provide a convenient, safe and absorbent surface for wiping hands in the region of the users thighs.

2. Brief Description of Related Art

Painters and constructions workers are in contact, on a daily basis, with chemicals, paint and other substances that can ruin their cloths. Often times, these substances can contain chemicals that can also irritate the skin. Most of the times, however, it is very inconvenient to have paint, caulk, mortar, adhesives, or other substances on their hands and there is a need to wipe the hands regularly.

Many workers simply wipe their hands on the front of their pants in the region of the thigh or sides of the thighs. This action ruins the pants and can penetrate through the pant fabric to contact the legs.

Aprons have used to protect the pants. Other garments that cover the pants have also been used to protect the pants. Most of these garments are designed to cover the entire front of the leg from the waist to the ankle or shoe. Such garments are hot and cumbersome.

Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a frontal garment that offers a convenient wiping surface in the region of the worker's thigh.

It is another object to provide a garment that protects the user's garment from the region of the waist to above the knee.

These and other objects will become apparent upon further reading of the detailed description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A protective hand-wiping garment for a user that has first and second leg portions adapted to fit over an upper frontal area of the user's legs. Each of the leg portions having an upper end and a lower end. The lower end of the leg portions, respectively, having lengths that are designed to be just above the knee of the average size user. The garment also has a belt portion connected to the upper end of the first and second leg portions for securing the garment around the user's waist. One or more fastening straps are positioned on the garment for fastening the first leg portion around one leg of the user and one or more fastening straps for fastening the second leg portion around a second leg of the user. It is preferred that there are at least one strap per leg portion is present for fastening the leg portions around each of the thighs just above the knees. A hand-wiping portion is positioned on one or both of the first and/or second leg portions so that it will cover the thigh area on the frontal area of the user. The user can wipe his or her hands on the thigh-wiping region without ruining their pants or endangering their skin with chemicals that if wiped directly on the pants might seep through and injure the skin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the front of the garment;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the hand-wiping portion according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the hand-wiping portion showing peel off sheets; and

FIG. 4 is a partial view of the front of the garment showing attachment means positioned in front of and behind the garment with no hand-wiping portion attached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the figures, and particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a front view of the hand-wiping garment A. The garment A has a first leg portion 2a and a second leg portion 2b adapted to fit over an upper frontal area of the user's lower abdomen and legs, particularly over the user's thighs. Each of the leg portions 2a and 2b having an upper end 3 and a lower end 4. The lower end 4 of the leg portions, respectively, having lengths that are designed to be just above the knee of the average size user. The garment also has a belt portion 1 connected to the upper end 3 of the first and second leg portions for securing the garment around the user's waist. One or more fastening straps 5 are positioned on the garment for fastening the first leg portion 2a around one leg of the user and one or more fastening straps 5 for fastening the second leg portion 2b around a second leg of the user. It is preferred that there are at least one leg straps affixed to or near the lower end 3 of each leg portion for fastening the leg portions around the thigh just above the knees.

HAND-WIPING PORTION A hand-wiping portion 6 is positioned on one or both of the first and/or second leg portions 2a and 2b so that it will cover the thigh area on the frontal area of the user. The hand-wiping portion 6 can be a single or multiple clothe/towel assembly. The user can wipe his or her hands on the thigh hand-wiping portion 6 without ruining their pants or endangering their skin with chemicals, which if wiped directly on the pants, might seep through and injure the skin. The hand-wiping portion is removable.

BELT The belt portion 1 wraps around the front of the users torso and includes ties 8 on opposing ends of the belt portion. The ties 8 may be elongated pieces of fabric that can be tied together in a knot or bow. The ties 8 can optionally contain a fastening mechanism 9 such as a clasp, buckle, or Velcro® for ease of fastening. The belt portion 1, preferable contains elastic to permit a comfortable fit at the user's waist. The belt portion and ties affix the upper end of the garment to the user's waist.

LEG FASTENING STRAPS The leg fastening straps 5 are preferably elastic bands secured to opposite sides of each leg portion at the lower ends 4, respectively, thereof as shown in FIG. 1. In use, the user inserts his/her leg through the straps and pulls the garment up the legs to a position above the knee. The leg fastening straps 5 keep the garment close to the leg for maximum protection. Alternatively, the leg fastening straps can be ties or other fastening means such as clasps, hooks or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hand-wiping portion 6 is a stack of separate cloths, towels or sheets that are attached together in a manner so that, for example, individual sheets 10 can be torn off exposing additional layers of sheets or cloths beneath it. The sheets may be glued together at one end thereof with glue 15 (see FIG. 3) or can be connected to each other by friction, static charge or other suitable means. In this stacked or layered clothe embodiment, it is preferred to have a backing material 11 at the bottom or behind the of the stack. The backing material 11 is preferably a fluid resistant and water-resistant or waterproof fabric to prevent seepage of fluids through the stack and onto the garment A. The backing material 11 has a front surface 20, facing the stack of towels, and a back surface 21, that lies against the garment A. The back surface 21 may further comprise an attachment means 12 for attaching the hand-wiping portion to the garment A. The attachment means 12 can be any suitable means to safely and securely attach the hand-wiping portion to the garment A. Examples of suitable attachment means are snaps, clips, clasps, hooks, Velcro®, magnets. The attachment means must hold the hand-wiping portion in a substantially flat position against the surface of the garment. This flat position is important so that a users hands can easily be wiped by an upward, downward and/or side to side movement over the surface of the hand-wiping portion, without the hand-wiping portion swinging laterally.

Alternatively, the hand-wiping portion may be one or more single cloths or towels that is affixed to the garment A at one or more positions below the belt portion so that the cloth or towel hangs down over the thigh region of the user. The cloth or towel or stack of peel off sheets may be affixed by attachment means 12. The attachment means can be clips, snaps, clamps, Velcro® hook and loop fasteners, or magnets or other means for easily attaching and detaching the cloth or towel or stack of peel of sheets from the garment. The single cloth or towel embodiment should be easy to attach, detach and reattach, as it will need to be removed for cleaning or replacement when it is soiled.

The hand-wiping portion 6 may be made of disposable rags, terrycloth, or other absorbent material. Suitable materials for the cloths include absorbent materials such as natural fibers, synthetic fibers and blends of fibers. The cloths can be woven or non-woven and can be of various thicknesses. The cloths can be washable and reusable or disposable.

GARMENT The garment A should be made of a durable material. Preferred materials include cotton and cotton blends. Synthetic fabrics are also contemplated. Waterproof material and waterproofed backed materials may also be used. Materials that prevent absorption and seepage through of caustic chemicals such as acids or highly basic materials are contemplated for applications wherein the user is working with these types of dangerous materials and needs to wipe his/her gloved hands on the garment. The fabric of the garment can be disposable or non-disposable.

The garment has a width that substantially covers the front of the user. It is preferred that the garment wraps 50% of the circumference of the user's body from the waist to above the knee. The garment can also partially cover the side of the user's legs and inside thigh. The garment does not wrap totally around the legs of the user but only the front and in some cases the sides as well. The garment is a not short.

ATTACHMENT MEANS FOR RAG The attachment means 12 are for holding the hand-wiping portion securely to the garment. In the embodiment where the attachment means are clips or clamps as shown in FIG. 1, they can be attached to the garment by any means. FIG. 4 shows clip attachment means 12 by themselves with no hand wiping portion attached. As shown in FIG. 4, in one embodiment, the garment A defines openings 13 in the vicinity of the attachment means. The openings 13 are slits that are large enough to receive clips or snaps there through for storage of the attachment means behind the garment. This configuration may be helpful in the case where the user wishes to lean against a delicate surface and does not want the attachment means to scratch the surface. The user would simply place the clips inside the openings so that they were between the user and the garment while in use.

EXAMPLES

In use, a painter in this example working in conditions where his/her hands will get paint on them, puts the garment on by affixing it at the waste with the belt portion and further fixing the fastening straps around the legs just above the knees. As the painter's hands get dirty with paint, the painter drops his/her hands down to the level of the thighs. The hands are then rubbed upwards and/or downwards on the hand-wiping portion and possibly side to side to remove the paint. The painter's pants and leg skin are protected from the paint. At the appropriate time, the worker removes one or more of the hand-wiping portions and either launder it and reaffix it to the garment or throw it away. In the case of the stack of sheets, the painter removes the outermost sheet and throws it away. The painter may also use the outermost sheet to clean a surface if convenient.

With the dirty hand-wiping portion removed, the garment can be stored without fear of getting the storage area surrounding the garment dirty and the garment is ready for use at a later time.

Claims

1. A protective hand-wiping garment for a user comprising:

first and second leg portions adapted to fit over an upper frontal area of said user's legs; each leg portion having an upper end and a lower end, said lower end having a length that is just above the knee of the user;

a belt portion connected to the upper end of the first and second leg portions for securing the garment around the user's waist;

one or more fastening straps for fastening said first leg portion around one leg of the user;

one or more fastening straps for fastening said second leg portion around a second leg of the user;

a removable hand-wiping portion on one or both of said first and/or second leg portions; said hand-wiping portion positioned so that it covers the thigh area on the frontal area of the user.

2. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 1, wherein said hand-wiping portion comprises:

one or more single cloths affixed to said garment by attachment means so that the cloth(s) lay substantially flat against a front surface of said garment below the belt portion.

3. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 1, wherein said hand-wiping portion comprises:

at least one stack of disposable tear away sheets affixed to said garment by attachment means so that the stack lays substantially flat against a front surface of said garment below the belt portion.

4. The stack of disposable tear away sheets of claim 3, wherein said stack has a backing material that is fluid resistant.

5. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 3, wherein said tear away sheets are bound together at one end of said stack by glue.

6. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 1, wherein said hand-wiping portion is affixed to said garment by one or more clasps, snaps, hook and loop fasteners, magnets, clamps, and/or hooks.

7. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 1, wherein said leg portions are waterproof material.

8. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 1, wherein said hand-wiping portion is disposable.

9. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 1, wherein said belt portion contains elastic.

10. A process for producing a protective hand-wiping garment comprising the steps of: a. producing a garment having: b. providing one or more a removable hand-wiping portions; and c. affixing said one or more removable hand-wiping portions on one or both of said first and/or second leg portions; said hand-wiping portion positioned so that it covers the thigh area on the frontal area of the user.

i. first and second leg portions adapted to fit over an upper frontal area of said user's legs; each leg portion having an upper end and a lower end, said lower end having a length that is just above the knee of the user;

ii. a belt portion connected to the upper end of the first and second leg portions for securing the garment around the user's waist;

iii. one or more fastening straps for fastening said first leg portion around one leg of the user;

iv. one or more fastening straps for fastening said second leg portion around a second leg of the user;

11. A protective hand-wiping garment for a user comprising:

a. first and second leg portions adapted to fit over an upper frontal area of said user's legs; each leg portion having an upper end and a lower end, said lower end having a length that is just above the knee of the user;

b. a belt portion connected to the upper end of the first and second leg portions for securing the garment around the user's waist;

c. one or more fastening straps for fastening said first leg portion around one leg of the user;

d. one or more fastening straps for fastening said second leg portion around a second leg of the user;

e. a hand-wiping portion on one or both of said first and/or second leg portions; said hand-wiping portion positioned so that it covers the thigh area on the frontal area of the user.

12. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 11, wherein said hand-wiping portion comprises:

one or more single cloths affixed to said garment by attachment means so that the cloth(s) lay substantially flat against a front surface of said garment below the belt portion.

13. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 11, wherein said hand-wiping portion comprises:

at least one stack of disposable tear away sheets affixed to said garment by attachment means so that the stack lays substantially flat against a front surface of said garment below the belt portion.

14. The stack of disposable tear away sheets of claim 13, wherein said stack has a backing material that is fluid resistant.

15. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 13, wherein said tear away sheets are bound together at one end of said stack by glue.

16. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 11, wherein said hand-wiping portion is affixed to said garment by one or more clasps, snaps, hook and loop fasteners, magnets, clamps, and/or hooks.

17. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 11, wherein said leg portions are waterproof material.

18. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 11, wherein said hand-wiping portion is disposable.

19. The protective hand-wiping garment of claim 11, wherein said belt portion contains elastic.