Abstract:
A variety of clothing for Alzheimer&#39;s patients. The clothing include a shirt and blouse, a pair of pajamas and coveralls, a pair of pants and a dress and gown. All of the clothing have false fronts for added dignity and utilize a number of different fasteners. Provisions are also made for patients that undress themselves at inappropriate times and patients that can&#39;t raise their arms above their head.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to clothing and, more particularly, to a line of clothing designed for people afflicted with Alzheimer&#39;s disease.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     There is a variety of clothing made for elderly people to accommodate their respective needs. Some older people have problems such as incontinence and trying to undress themselves at inappropriate times, and oftentimes need fulltime care and special clothing to meet their special needs. Many of these specialty clothes are reflected in the related art.  
         [0005]     U.S. Pat. No. Des. 97,980 issued to Baum on Dec. 31, 1935, outlines the ornamental design for a blouse.  
         [0006]     U.S. Pat. No. Des. 105,674 issued to Sheer on Aug. 17, 1937, outlines the ornamental design for a blouse.  
         [0007]     U.S. Pat. No. 112,725 issued to Weiner on Dec. 27, 1938, outlines the ornamental design for a blouse.  
         [0008]     U.S. Pat. No. 136,416 issued to Pons on Sep. 28, 1943, outlines the ornamental design for a blouse.  
         [0009]     U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,009 issued to Cookman on Feb. 2, 1960, outlines the use of a pair of trousers designed for handicapped persons. The trousers have a zipper along each of its sides to allow a handicapped person to expose his or her backside for more easily using the bathroom or to more easily dress and undress himself or herself.  
         [0010]     U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,330 issued to Bowcut on Apr. 2, 1974, outlines the use of garments such as jeans or leggings for use in work or sports which involve considerable action and which accommodate the requirements of these activities. These garments are concerned with having heavy duty and work jeans to be a more stylish and attractive item of apparel.  
         [0011]     U.S. Pat. No. 4.370,757 issued to Richmond on Feb. 1, 1983, outlines the use of a garment with a modesty panel, which is designed for patients of hospitals or nursing homes. The garment has a first and second portions, which have upper and lower ends and inner and outer side edges. The first and second garment portions are joined at their upper inner side edges to form a body portion, which may be wrapped around the person to cover their lower abdomen, thighs and buttocks.  
         [0012]     U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,756 issued to Grassick on Apr. 10, 1990, outlines the use of an article of clothing which can be readily self-donned or put on wearers, such as handicapped persons, without the necessity of executing normal dressing movements. The article is a single piece of fabric cut so as to wrap around the waist to form the outer seams, inseams and crotch area.  
         [0013]     U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,173 issued to Gordon et al. on Oct. 23, 1990, outlines the use of a dignity gown having a minimum number of parts including a fully closed back portion as well as an overlapping lower front portion and a top front portion that is capable of being detached temporarily via fastening means devoid any snap fasteners (but instead provided with hook and loop fasteners).  
         [0014]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,312 issued to Holyfield on Jun. 15, 1999, outlines the use of protective clothing for the care of elderly and infirmary patients. In one embodiment, clothing is provided without any front entry but instead has a rear entry slit that has one or more protective flaps, which cover and protect fasteners from manipulation by the patient. Preferably, the garment has an elongated zipper running vertically along the center of the rear.  
         [0015]     German Pat. No. DE 4,304,358 granted to Domine on Aug. 18, 1994, outlines the use of a special nursing garment designed like overalls with an integral top and a trouser-shaped integral bottom. A seam that extends in the crotch along the inside of the trouser legs and a closable opening in the top for pulling the garment on or off is distinguished by having a left and a right garment half, the two garment halves being connected to one another by only one seam on the inside of the legs which extend from the feet over the buttocks. There is also a seamless back part which is sewn to the two garment halves horizontally over the buttocks and laterally from the buttocks to the armpits, and two separate integral sleeve parts which are sewn to the two garment halves in the region of the armpits.  
         [0016]     French Pat. No. FR 2,809,934 granted to Prades on Dec. 14, 2001, outlines the use of a garment made from a Jersey fabric for elasticity and comfort, which has one-piece overalls with a rear opening from the left shoulder and waist, closed by a sliding clasp fastener and two press studs at the neck, which allow the upper part of the body to be exposed without having to turn the patient on one side. There is also a double sliding clasp fastener running from the crotch to the ankles to allow an incontinent patient to be changed without removing the garment.  
         [0017]     Website www.buckandbuck.com/cgi-bin/bbshop.pl?id=60e printed from the Internet on Oct. 10, 2003, outlines the use of a twill back zip jumpsuit with a back zipper and snap and a false zip front with two front pockets to make the jumpsuit look like a pair of standard coveralls.  
         [0018]     Although each of these patents, publications and Websites outline the use of specialized clothing for sick and elderly people, what is really needed is a line of clothing that is specially designed for people that suffer from Alzeimer&#39;s disease. Such a line of clothing would meet an increasing demand for such clothing in the marketplace.  
         [0019]     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus clothing for Alzheimer&#39;s patients solving the aforementioned problems is desired.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]     The invention is a variety of clothing for Alzheimer&#39;s patients. The clothing includes a shirt and blouse, a pair of pajamas and coveralls, a pair of pants, and a dress and gown. All of the clothes have false fronts and utilize a number of different fasteners. Provisions are also made for patients that undress themselves at inappropriate times and patients who cannot raise their arms above their heads.  
         [0021]     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a line of clothing for persons that suffer from Alzheimer&#39;s disease.  
         [0022]     It is another object of the invention to provide a line of clothing for persons who undress themselves at inappropriate times.  
         [0023]     It is a further object of the invention to provide a line of clothing for persons with Alzheimer&#39;s disease that preserves a person&#39;s dignity and respect while wearing the clothing.  
         [0024]     Still another object of the invention is to provide a line of clothing for elderly wearers that can&#39;t reach above their head or raise their arms up due to their respective health problems.  
         [0025]     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.  
         [0026]     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0027]      FIG. 1A  is a front perspective view of a blouse and shirt for Alzheimer&#39;s patients.  
         [0028]      FIG. 1B  is a rear perspective view of a blouse and shirt for Alzheimer&#39;s patients.  
         [0029]      FIG. 2A  is a front perspective view of overalls or pajamas for Alzheimer&#39;s patients.  
         [0030]      FIG. 2B  is a rear perspective view of overalls or pajamas for Alzheimer&#39;s patients.  
         [0031]      FIG. 3A  is a front perspective view of a pair of pants for Alzheimer&#39;s patients.  
         [0032]      FIG. 3B  is a rear perspective view of a pair of pants for Alzheimer&#39;s patients.  
         [0033]      FIG. 4A  is a front perspective view of a dress or gown for Alzheimer&#39;s patients.  
         [0034]      FIG. 4B  is a rear perspective view of a dress or gown for Alzheimer&#39;s patients.  
     
    
       [0035]     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0036]     The present invention is a shirt and a blouse  10  for Alzheimer&#39;s patients.  FIG. 1A  depicts the front side of the shirt and blouse  20  and  FIG. 1B  depicts the backside of the shirt and blouse  30 . The shirt and the blouse  10  are functionally similar, except that one is designed for men (the shirt) and the other is designed for women (the blouse) and are otherwise the same.  
         [0037]     Both the shirt and blouse  10  comprise a false front on the front side of the shirt and blouse  20  to aestetically give an appearance of an actual front side of a shirt and blouse  20 . The front side of the shirt and blouse  20  includes false pockets  22  and false buttons  24 , as are depicted in  FIG. 1A . There is also a means for fastening the shirt and blouse  10  located on the back side of the shirt and blouse  30 . The means for fastening include a plurality of buttons  32 , a zipper (not shown), a plurality of clasps (not shown), a hook and loop fastener (not shown) and a plurality of ties (not shown). These are all common means for fastening clothing articles and are well-known to those schooled in the related art.  
         [0038]     There is also a pair of elongated straps  40  that extend from the shirt and blouse  10  that can be tied together to secure the shirt and blouse  10  to an Alzheimer&#39;s patient (not shown). In addition, there are also removable zip-off sleeves  50  that can be removed in hot weather and added in cold weather for added comfort. These features are also depicted in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B .  
         [0039]      FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B  depict a pair of pajamas and coveralls  60  for Alzheimer&#39;s patients. The pair of pajamas and coveralls  60  has a front side  70  and a backside  80  that are structurally the same with a one-piece top and bottom construction. Like the shirt and blouse  10 , the pair of pajamas and coveralls  60  comprises a false front on the front side  70  to aestetically give an appearance of an actual front side of a pair of pajamas and coveralls. This is to preserve the dignity of the Alzheimer&#39;s patient wearing the pair of pajamas and coveralls  60  so that the wearer does not look funny wearing the pair of pajamas and coveralls  60  backwards. The false front includes a false zipper  72  and false buttons  74 , as well as false pockets  78 . Other features of the pair of pajamas and coveralls  60  include a pair of zip-off legs  100  and a pair of zip-off sleeves  110  for comfort.  
         [0040]     The pair of pajamas and coveralls  60  further comprises a means for fastening the pair of pajamas and coveralls  60  located on the back side of the pair of pajamas and coveralls  80 . The means for fastening include a zipper  90 , a plurality of buttons (not shown), a plurality of clasps (not shown), a hook and loop fastener (not shown) and a plurality of ties (not shown).  
         [0041]      FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B  depict a pair of pants  120  for Alzheimer&#39;s patients. The pair of pants  120  has a front side  130  and a back side  140  and like the shirt and blouse  10 , the pair of pants  120  comprises a false front on the front side  130  to aestetically give an appearance of an actual front side of a pair of pants. This is to preserve the dignity of the Alzheimer&#39;s patient wearing the pair of pants  120  so that the wearer does not look funny wearing the pair of pants  120  backwards. The false front includes a false zipper  132  and a false button-fly  134 , as well as false pockets  136  and a false belt and belt-buckle  138 . Other features of the pair of pants  120  include a pair of zip-off legs  160  and a plurality of belt loops  170 .  
         [0042]     The pair of pants  120  further comprises a means for fastening the pair of pants  120  located on the backside of the pair of pants  140 . The means for fastening include a zipper  180 , a plurality of buttons (not shown), a plurality of clasps (not shown), a hook and loop fastener (not shown) and a plurality of ties (not shown).  
         [0043]      FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  depict a dress and gown  190  for Alzheimer&#39;s patients. The dress and gown  190  have a front side  200  and a back side  210 , comprising a false front on the front side  200  to aestetically give an appearance of an actual front side of the dress and gown  190 . The false front includes false buttons  220  and pockets  230 . Like the pair of pants  120  and the pair of pajamas and coveralls  60 , the dress and gown  190  further comprise a number of means for fastening on its back side  210 . These include a plurality of buttons  240 , a zipper (not shown), a hook and loop fastener (not shown), a plurality of clasps (not shown) and a plurality of ties (not shown). There is also a pair of zip-off sleeves  250  provided for added comfort.  
         [0044]     Use of the shirt and blouse  10 , the pair of pajamas and coveralls  60 , the pair of pants  120  and the dress and gown  190  are straightforward. All of the embodiments open from the back of the respective garments and have false fronts to give the wearer added dignity and respect. All of the embodiments are made of stain resistant and wrinkle free material that comes in a variety of styles and colors and are easily washable.  
         [0045]     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.