Patent Publication Number: US-2022226143-A1

Title: Ostomy Garment Assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
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     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The disclosure relates to ostomy devices and more particularly pertains to a new ostomy device for securing and concealing an ostomy bag. The ostomy device includes a belt that is wearable around the user&#39;s waist and a pouch that is coupled to the belt for receiving the ostomy bag. Additionally, the pouch can be opened for draining the ostomy bag without requiring the user to remove the belt or the pouch. 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The prior art relates to ostomy devices including a variety of undergarments that have a pouch integrated therein for storing an ostomy bag. The prior art discloses an ostomy support belt that has an opening therein and which facilitates an ostomy bag to be attached thereto. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a belt that is wearable around a user&#39;s waist. The belt has an opening extending therethrough to accommodate an ostomy bag that is being worn by the user. A pouch is coupled to the belt for containing the ostomy bag being worn by the user. The pouch is comprised of an opaque material to conceal the ostomy bag. Additionally, the pouch is comprised of a fluid impermeable material to contain fluids that might leak from the ostomy bag. The pouch is openable without removing the pouch from the belt to facilitate the ostomy bag to be emptied while the ostomy bag is positioned within the pouch. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order 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. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective phantom view of an ostomy garment assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a back perspective phantom view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a front phantom view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a front phantom view of an alternative embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 6  thereof, a new ostomy device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 6 , the ostomy garment assembly  10  generally comprises a belt  12  that is wearable around a user&#39;s waist  14 . The belt  12  is comprised of a resiliently stretchable material such that the belt  12  compresses around the user&#39;s waist  14 . Additionally, the belt  12  has an opening  16  extending therethrough to accommodate an ostomy bag  18  being worn by the user. The belt  12  has an inside surface  20  and an outside surface  22 , and the opening  16  extends through the inside surface  20  and the outside surface  22 . 
     A pouch  24  is coupled to the belt  12  and the pouch  24  can contain the ostomy bag  18  being worn by the user. The pouch  24  is comprised of an opaque material to conceal the ostomy bag  18 . In this way the user can rest assured that the ostomy bag  18  will not be visible to observers. The pouch  24  is comprised of a fluid impermeable material to contain fluids that might leak from the ostomy bag  18 . In this way the pouch  24  and the belt  12  facilitate the ostomy bag  18  to be discretely supported without the risk of unsightly leaking. 
     The pouch  24  has a back wall  26 , a front wall  28  and an outer wall  30  extending therebetween, and the back wall  26  has a hole  32  extending into an interior of the pouch  24 . The back wall  26  is attached to the outside surface  22  of the belt  12  having the hole  32  being aligned with the opening  16  in the belt  12 . In this way the pouch  24  can receive the ostomy bag  18  when the belt  12  is worn around the users&#39; waist  14 . The outer wall  30  has a first lateral side  34 , a second lateral side  36 , an upper side  38  and a lower side  40 . Each of the first lateral side  34  and the second lateral side  36  curves inwardly toward each other at a point that is located adjacent to the lower side  40  such that the lower side  40  has a width is less than the width of the upper side  38 . 
     The lower side  40  is open to access an interior of the pouch  24  thereby facilitating the ostomy bag  18  to be emptied through the lower side  40 . In this way the ostomy bag  18  can be emptied without the need to remove the ostomy bag  18  from the pouch  24 . Each of the first lateral side  34  and the second lateral side  36  has a respective one of a pair of slots  42  extending into an interior of the pouch  24 . Moreover, the slots  42  are aligned with each other. 
     A first mating member  44  is coupled to an inside surface  45  of the back wall  26  of the pouch  24 , and the first mating member  44  is aligned with the lower side  40 . A second mating member  46  is coupled to an inside surface  47  of the front wall  28  of the pouch  24 , and the second mating member  46  is aligned with the lower side  40 . The second mating member  46  releasably engages the first mating member  44  for closing the lower side  40  of the pouch  24 . 
     A strap  48  is extendable through each of the slots  42  in the first lateral side  34  and the second lateral side  36  of the outer wall  30  of the pouch  24 . The strap  48  is extendable around the belt  12  for increasing stability of the belt  12  on the user. The strap  48  can be employed when the user is recovering from a hernia repair surgery to reduce strain on the user. In an alternative embodiment  50  as is most clearly shown in  FIG. 6 , the pouch  24  has a top portion  52  that is separate from a bottom portion  54 . The top portion  52  is liftable away from the bottom portion  54  to access an interior of the pouch  24 . In this way the ostomy bag  18  can be inserted into the pouch  24  or removed from the pouch  24 . 
     In use, the belt  12  is worn around the user&#39;s waist  14  such that the user&#39;s ostomy bag  18  can be inserted through the opening  16  in the belt  12  and into the pouch  24 . In this way the ostomy bag  18  can be supported and concealed to enhance the user&#39;s self confidence. Moreover, the ostomy bag  18  is inhibited from getting hung up and potentially dislodged or torn while the ostomy bag  18  is contained in the pouch  24 . The ostomy bag  18  can be emptied through the lower side  40  of the pouch  24  without requiring the user to remove the belt  12  and the pouch  24 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and 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 an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure 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 disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.