GARMENT FOR PERSONS WITH LIMITED MOVEMENT
A garment having a plurality of hook-and-loop seam connectors to facilitate the donning or removal of the garment by persons having impaired arm or shoulder movement.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a garment for the human torso. More specifically, the present invention relates to a garment having strategically located connectors along a plurality of seams of the garment to facilitate donning or removal of the garment by a person having injuries, surgeries or otherwise limited flexibility or range of movement. More specifically, the garment of the present invention can be donned or removed in a manner that does not require the movement of shoulder joints to extreme displacements and in a manner that enables the garment to be more easily donned onto or removed from an unconscious, semi-conscious or otherwise movement impaired person.
2. Background of the Related Art
Medical patients, especially patients having injuries or surgeries to a shoulder, an arm, the neck or the collarbone are often physically impaired and unable to don or remove conventional clothing or conventional hospital gowns. For example, but not by way of limitation, a person with a collarbone or shoulder injury, a broken arm, or a person recovering from collarbone, shoulder, arm, breast or cardiac surgery, may be unable to position the arm and elbow above the shoulder to insert the arm into a sleeve of a conventional pullover shirt. While some hospital gowns are constructed to be donned from the front, as opposed to the back, these garments are not generally favorable for being fastened in the rear or for being worn in a modest manner.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTIONAn embodiment of the present invention comprises a garment comprising a superior shoulder seam connector, an inferior shoulder seam connector and at least one side seam connector proximal to the superior shoulder seam connector and the inferior sleeve seam connector to enable the garment to be donned and/or removed by persons having a limited range of arm movement in one or both shoulders. The present invention can be donned or removed by a person in a laying position, a sitting or standing position. The present invention can be worn in public because, unlike conventional hospital gowns, it appears as a conventional pullover shirt when all of the connectors are in the connected mode.
It will be understood that, with the seam connectors 11, 17, 23 and 24 in the connected mode as illustrated in
It will be understood that the garment 10 in the configuration illustrated in
Claims
1. A garment, comprising:
- a generally tubular abdomen portion having a neck opening at a first end, a bottom opening at a second end, and an abdomen side seam connector at which a first portion and a second portion of the abdomen portion are connectable using an elongate abdomen side seam connector with a hook portion connected to one of the first portion and the second portion and a corresponding loop portion connected to the other of the first portion and second portion;
- a first sleeve extending from the tubular abdomen portion and having a first superior shoulder seam connector with an elongate first shoulder seam connector hook portion connectable to an elongate first shoulder seam connector loop portion, and further including a first inferior shoulder seam connector disposed on the first sleeve proximal to the first superior shoulder seam connector and having a first inferior shoulder seam connector hook portion connectable to a first inferior shoulder seam connector loop portion; and
- a second sleeve extending from the tubular abdomen portion generally opposite to the first sleeve and having a second superior shoulder seam connector with a second shoulder seam connector hook portion connectable to a second shoulder seam connector loop portion;
- wherein the abdomen side seam connector, the first superior shoulder seam connector, the first inferior shoulder seam connector and the second superior shoulder seam connector are disconnectable to enable the garment to be donned by and removed from a torso of a person.
2. The garment of claim 1, further comprising:
- a pocket disposed on the first portion of the generally tubular abdomen portion, the pocket having an interior slit therein to accommodate a conductive member that can be connected to an instrument stored in the pocket.
3. A garment, comprising:
- a trunk portion, with a neck opening at a top end and a bottom opening at a bottom end, having an elongate hook and loop seam connector along a first side of the trunk portion with an elongate hook seam portion and an elongate loop seam portion connectable to the hook seam portion to close the trunk portion of garment to form a generally tubular trunk portion;
- a first sleeve extending from the trunk portion, proximal to the neck opening at the top end of the trunk portion, having a hook and loop seam connector along a top of the first sleeve and extending from an end of the first sleeve to the neck opening of the trunk portion, with a hook seam portion and a loop seam portion connectable to the hook seam portion to close the first sleeve of the garment to form a generally tubular sleeve portion, the first sleeve further having a hook and loop seam connector along a bottom of the first sleeve with a hook seam portion and a loop seam portion connectable to the hook seam portion to close the first sleeve of the garment to form, along with the connected hook and loop seam connector along the top side of the first sleeve, a generally tubular sleeve portion;
- a second sleeve extending from the tubular trunk portion, proximal to the neck opening, at the top end of the trunk portion and generally opposite the trunk portion from the first sleeve, and having a hook and loop seam connection extending along a top side of the second sleeve from an end of the second sleeve to the neck opening of the trunk portion, with a hook seam portion and a loop seam portion connectable to the hook seam portion to close the second sleeve of the garment to form a generally tubular sleeve portion;
- wherein the garment is receivable onto a human torso over the feet and legs by disconnecting the hook and loop seam connector along a top of the first sleeve and disconnecting the hook and loop seam connector along the second sleeve, inserting the feet into an enlarged neck opening produced by disconnecting the hook and loop seam connector along a top of the first sleeve and disconnecting the hook and loop seam connector along, the second sleeve, and by pulling the garment upwardly past the legs and hips until the hook and loop seam connectors along the top of the first sleeve and along the second sleeve can be reconnected above the wearer's shoulders; and
- wherein the garment is laterally receivable onto a human torso by disconnecting the hook and loop seam connector along a top of the first sleeve and disconnecting the hook and loop seam connector along a bottom of the second sleeve, and disconnecting, the hook and loop seam connector along the first side of the trunk portion, laterally receiving the garment onto the torso while inserting a second arm into the second sleeve, and by reconnecting the hook and loop seam connector along the first side of the trunk portion, the hook and loop seam connector along the top of the first sleeve and the hook and loop seam connector along a bottom of the first sleeve.
4. The garment of claim 3, further comprising:
- a pocket disposed on a front of the trunk portion of the garment, the pocket having an interior slit therein to accommodate a conductive member that can be connected to an instrument stored in the pocket.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 30, 2013
Publication Date: Mar 5, 2015
Inventors: Harry Richard Stanley (Sulphur Springs, TX), Martha Elizabeth Cox (Sulphur Springs, TX)
Application Number: 14/015,470
International Classification: A41D 13/12 (20060101); A41D 1/00 (20060101); A41D 27/20 (20060101);