Abstract:
A closure for securement to an article of apparel and for use by a person having handicapped hands is described. The closure comprises a first fastener support member which has one or more fastener elements secured thereto. A second fastener support member is provided and has one or more fastener elements for interconnection with the fasteners of the first support member. The first and second fastener support members are adapted for securement to articles of apparel. The fasteners are removably interconnectable together with the support members overlapping. A first fabric loop is provided in a front face of one of the fastener support members and a second fabric loop is secured to a lower portion of the other fastener support member, and may depend therefrom or be concealed therebehind. The loops are of predetermined size and are disposed for engagement by a handicapped person for attaching and detaching the fasteners with one another with the support members overlapped with one another.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a closure for securement to an article of apparel, such as a brassiere, bathing suit top, girdle, skirt, etc. and for use by a person having limited use of their fingers. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     In my U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,651 granted on Apr. 17, 1990 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,104 granted on Jul. 16, 1991, I disclose a brassiere for use by a handicapped person and which is attachable and detachable at the front central portion thereof between the cups. Opposed sides of the cups in this central portion are each provided with attaching portions and with these attaching portions having loops projecting substantially horizontally from the attaching portions. These loops are engaged by the fingers of the handicapped person to permit manipulation of the attaching portions. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,104 there are three loops in each attachment portion and accordingly the user person would thread three fingers of a hand through the three loops of one of the attaching portions and three fingers of the other hand in the three loops of the other attaching portion and then bring these attaching portions in overlapping juxtaposed relationship whereby to position the fastening hooks provided on the back face of one of the attachment portions into corresponding eyes secured on the outer surface of the front face of the back attaching portion. Usually, it would initially take several attempts for a user person to be able to engage these loops but after time this procedure becomes less difficult to the handicapped user person. 
     Although the brassieres as disclosed in my previous patents have found satisfactory utility on the marketplace, they still provide some inconveniences and disadvantages and particularly to persons who have serious limited use of their fingers. Also, certain persons with arthritis conditions may be affected more in one hand than the other hand and consequently may have extreme difficulty in manipulating at least one of the closure portions of the brassiere. I have also found that by providing all of these many loops makes it more difficult to use the brassiere and these affect the aesthetic appearance of the brassiere. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     It is a feature of the present invention to provide a closure for securement to an article of apparel and for use by a person having limited use of her fingers and which substantially overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art. 
     Another feature of the present invention is to provide a closure for securement to an article of apparel for use by a person having limited use of her fingers and wherein the closure comprises a pair of fastener support members which utilize a single loop which is easily engageable by a person having handicapped hands. 
     Another feature of the present invention is to provide a closure for securement to an article of apparel for use by a person having limited use of her fingers and wherein such closure comprises two fastener support members which may be secured to the article of apparel for ease of engagement by the right hand or the left hand. 
     Another feature of the present invention is to provide a closure for securement to an article of apparel for use by a person having limited use of her fingers and wherein such closure member may be secured to a brassiere, a swimsuit top, a girdle, a skirt, and other articles of apparel for securing the article of apparel by a person having handicapped hands. 
     Another feature of the present invention is to provide a closure member for securement to an article of apparel for use by a person having limited use of her fingers and wherein the closure member comprises two fastener support members with one of these fastener support members having a loop secured in an outer wall in a top portion thereof and the other member having a depending loop which depends from a lower edge thereof for ease of grasping and securement by a single finger or finger portion of a person having handicapped hands and wherein the closure is easy to secure and unsecure. 
     According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a closure for securement to an article of apparel and for use by a person having limited use of her fingers. The closure comprises a first fastener support member having first fastener means secured thereto. A second fastener support member has a second fastener means secured thereto. The first and second fastener support members are adapted for securement to articles of apparel. The first and second fastener means are removably interconnectable with one another to retain the first and second fastener support members in overlapping relationship. A first fabric loop is provided in a front face of one of the fastener support members. A second fabric loop is secured to a lower portion of the other of the fastener support members. The loops are of predetermined size and disposed for engagement by handicapped hands for attaching and detaching the fastener means with one another with the said one of the fastener support members overlapped on top of the other of the fastener support member. 
     According to a further broad aspect of the present invention the closure may not be provided with loops if a person with handicapped hands is capable of engaging the first and second fastener means together. However, contact fastening means are secured adjacent the first and second fastener means for interconnecting attachment with one another when in pressure contact when the first and second fastener means are interconnected by handicapped hands capable of overlapping the fastener support member to interconnect the fastener means together. The contact fastener means are disposed in horizontal alignment with the first and second fastener means. The first fastener means is constituted by one or more rigid hook fastener members which are secured at predetermined locations on a rear face of the first fastener support member. The second fastener means is constituted by one or more rigid eye fastener members secured at predetermined locations to a front face of the second fastener support member and dimensioned to be engaged by associated ones of the one or more rigid hook fastener members. 
     In a preferred embodiment the fastener support members are incorporated in a brassiere. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing the construction of one of the fastener support members of the closure of the present invention and showing a loop secured in a top portion of the front face thereof; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a second fastener support member forming the closure of the present invention and showing the depending loop secured thereto; 
     FIG. 4 is a top section view through the fastener support member of FIG.  3  and partly fragmented; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a brassiere to which the closure of the present invention has been secured; 
     FIG. 6 is a fragmented perspective view showing how a person having handicapped hands secures the fastener support members of a brassiere whereby to connect and disconnect these members to one another; 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged view illustrating how the fasteners are interconnected to secure the support members together; 
     FIG. 8 is a top view illustrating the two fastener support members interconnected; 
     FIGS. 9A and 9B are front and rear views respectively illustrating another embodiment of a front one of the fastener support members; and 
     FIGS. 10A and 10B are front and rear views respectively of a rear one of the fastener support members for use with the support member of FIGS.  9 A and  9 B. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 to  5 , there will be described the construction and use of the closure of the present invention for securement to an article of apparel, such as the brassiere  10  as shown in FIG.  5  and for use by a person having limited use of her fingers such as a person suffering from arthritis or having any other hand handicap. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 to  4 , the closure of the present invention is comprised of a first fastener support member  11  which is provided with one or more rigid hook fasteners  12 , herein three hook fasteners disposed equidistantly spaced apart on a rear face  13  of the first fastener support member  11 . The closure also comprises a second fastener support member  14 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and which is also provided with one or more rigid eye-type fasteners  15  equidistantly spaced apart and secured on a front face  16  thereof. The fastener support members  11  and  14  are hereinshown as elongated substantially rectangular flat reinforced fabric pieces, but could conceivably have a different shape. The hook fasteners  12  are adapted for hooking engagement with the eye fasteners  15 , as will be described later. The eye fasteners  15  are preferably wider than the hook fasteners  12  to facilitate engagement. 
     In order to facilitate the manipulation of the fastener support members  11  and  14  when secured to an article of apparel, a fabric loop  17  is secured in a top portion of the front face  18  of the first fastener support member  11  and projects outwardly of the front face  18  to form an opening  17 ′ between the fabric loop  17  and the front surface  18 . As shown in FIG. 1, the fabric forming the fabric loop  17  extends to the bottom of the front face  18  and stitched at  9  whereby to form a second loop band  17 ″ but which does not have a pronounced protrusion from the front face  18 . This second loop band  17 ″ constitutes an auxiliary loop should it facilitate manipulation by the user person. It is, however, preferable to have a single loop  17 . 
     Similarly, as shown in FIG. 3, the second fastener support member  14  is also provided with a single fabric loop  19  but which is secured and protrudes from a lower portion  16 ′ of the front face  16  thereof. This loop  19  is also formed by a fabric band and these fabric bands have sufficient rigidity to maintain an open loop condition to facilitate engagement by the thumb or a finger of a person having handicapped hands. 
     As also shown in FIGS. 1 to  4 , the fastener support members  11  and  14  are reinforced fabric pieces fabricated from two or three fabric layers, namely fabric layers  20 ,  21  and  20 ′,  21 ′. . . . The layers are secured in juxtaposition by circumferential stitch line patterns  22  but these fastener support members may be left unstitched along a straight outer edge  23 ,  23 ′ thereof whereby to secure same to fabric pieces  24  as shown in FIG.  4 . As shown in FIG. 4, a fabric piece  24  is inserted between the unstitched edge  23 ′ and then a further connecting stitch  25  is applied to secure the fastener support member  14  to an article of apparel containing the fabric  24 . 
     It is pointed out that these articles of apparel use materials having elastic properties in the areas which are secured to these fastener support members  11  and  14  whereby to apply tension to retain the fasteners  12  and  15  engaged with one another. However, to provide added retention and peace of mind to the user that the fasteners will not become undone, there is further provided contact fastening members in the form of Velcro tabs  26  disposed adjacent each of the fasteners  12  and further Velcro tabs  27  disposed adjacent the eye fasteners  15 . As hereinshown the fastener tabs  27  are constituted by hook tape pieces while the fastener tabs  26  are constituted by loop tape pieces, as is well known in the art. An additional tab  28  may be provided in a top portion of the rear face  13  of the fastener support member  11  and similarly a fastener tab  29  may be provided in the top portion of the front face  16  of the other fastener support member  14 . When in use, the first fastener support member  11  is positioned over the second fastener support member in overlapped, substantially juxtaposed position and this is done as will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 to  8 . 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the closure of the present invention is herein shown incorporated in a brassiere and provides a front closure. The brassiere  10  has a pair of cup portions  30  and  31  which are interconnected and formed integral with a back panel  32 . Shoulder straps  33  also interconnect the cup portions to the back panel as is well known in the art and as described and illustrated in my aforementioned U.S. Patents. As hereinshown the first fastener support member  11  is connected along its straight connecting edge  23  to a central connecting portion  34  of the cup portion  31  by connecting stitch line  25 ′. Similarly, the second fastener support member  14  is connected to the central connecting portion  34 ′ of the other cup  30  by connecting stitch line  25 ″. The fastener support member  14  is connected thereto with its eye fasteners  15  disposed outwardly. The first fastener support member  11  is connected with its hook fasteners  12  disposed inwardly. 
     With reference now to FIGS. 6 to  8 , there will be described the manner in which the fastener support members  11  and  14  are interconnected together. As shown in FIG. 6, the person with the handicapped hands positions the brassiere about his shoulders with the frontal central portion opened and facing forwardly. In this illustration, the fastener support member  14  is secured adjacent the left cup  30  while the other fastener support member  11  is secured adjacent the right cup  31 , but these could be inverted to suit the user. The person engages the thumb  36  or a finger of his left hand  37  into the loop  19  and positions the cup  30  in position against the body  37 , as shown in FIG.  7  and maintains it against the body by the palm or hand pressure. With the thumb  38  of the right hand  39 , as shown in FIG. 7, the person then engages the loop  17  and brings the fastener support member  11  over and beyond the support member  14  with the fabric stretched. Because the brassiere is provided with an elastic band  40  thereabout and made in part with stretchable fabrics, as shown in FIG. 5, there is applied a restoring force or a tensile force tending to pull the fastener support members away from one another. With the hook fasteners  12  in substantial alignment with the eye fasteners  15 , this restoring force will guide the hook fasteners to engage within the eye fasteners  15 , as shown in FIG. 8, when the user retracts his crossed hand  39  slightly from a position where the hands are criss-crossed one above the other. After the person senses that the hook fasteners are engaged within the eye fasteners, the person then applies pressure with the palm portion  41  of his right hand  39  or the wrist to engage the Velcro tabs  26 ,  27 ,  28  and  29  together. The user then withdraws the thumbs or fingers from engagement with the fastener support members. 
     To disconnect the fastener support members from one another, the user again engages the loops  17  and  19  in the same manner as he did for engaging the fastener support members together and pushes the fastener support members in opposed directions with the hands criss-crossing one above the other. 
     FIG. 8 is a simplified top section view showing the fastener support members  11  and  14  secured to an elastic waistband  50  of a skirt which circumscribes a user&#39;s waist. The fastener support members are connected in a like fashion as described above when secured to a brassiere but the loops  17  and  36  may be provided with decorative designs  51  on its outer faces, as shown in FIG. 3, for aesthetic appearance. These designs may match the color of the piece of apparel or have neutral designs adaptable to many different type of apparel sufficient only to say that the reason therefor is to conceal the use of these loops and to give them an appearance of design. Conceivably the brassiere  10  as shown in FIG. 5 may be constructed as a bathing suit top and again the loops would be provided with decorative designs or attachments. The depending loop  19  could also serve as a means to attach a key set or a article carrying capsule which is fashionable with swimwear. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 9A and 9B, there is shown a further embodiment of the construction of the fastener support member  11 ′. As hereinshown, that member is provided with a fabric loop  60  which lies substantially flat over the outer face  61  of the member  11 ′ and which forms a single loop between its fastened top portion  62  and the stitch line  63 . This fabric loop  60  is constituted by a “Grosgrain” ribbon. By inserting the thumb or a finger between the ribbon or the fabric loop  60  and the outer face  61  of the fastener support member  11 ′, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 6, a loop is formed between the ribbon  60  and the outer face  61 . 
     As shown in FIG. 9B, this fastener support member  11 ′ is provided with only two rigid hook fasteners  64  secured in a spaced apart manner on the rear face  65  of the fastener support member  11 ′. Fabric-type Velcro fastener tabs  66  are also appropriately secured to the rear face  65  and disposed for complimentary engagement by loop-type Velcro tabs  66 ′ which are provided on the front face  67  of the second fastener support member  14 ′, as illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B. 
     As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the second fastener support member  14 ′, herein the backing member, is provided with two rigid eye-type fasteners  68  appropriately secured to the rear face  67  for engagement by the rigid hook fastener  64 . In this particular embodiment it can be seen that the second fabric loop is constituted differently than with the previous embodiments in that the loop  69  extends upwardly over the rear face  70  of the fastener support member  14 ′. The loop is secured to the lower edge of the fastener support member  14 ′ by a securement stitch  71 . The second loop  69  is also formed of the ribbon as above-identified and accordingly when the article of apparel, herein a brassiere such as that shown in FIG. 5, is worn by a user the loop  69  will not be visible and will rest comfortably inside the brassiere behind the rear fastener support member  14 ′. 
     As shown in FIG. 9A, a decorative piece such as a fabric rosette  72  may be integrated within the top stitching  62  and therefore compliments the design or aesthetic appearance of the front face of the fastener support member  11 ′. Also, because the fabric loop  60  is more subtle in appearance, this allows the lady who wears the brassiere, to use a tight-fitting sweater or blouse without any loops showing through, which would reveal the fact that the person is handicapped. The back loop  69  is only pulled down when it is needed and thereafter can be tucked away back to its hidden position where it will tend to restore itself to that position as shown in FIG. 10B seeing that it is a close-folded loop and has sufficient rigidity to maintain its shape while exhibiting a smooth surface which will not aggravate when positioned against the skin. As also shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 9A to  10 B, only two hook-and-eyelet fasteners are used for securing the fastener support members  11 ′ and  14 ′ together and a further Velcro piece  66 ″ and is disposed centrally therebetween. This stops the brassiere from opening at the center of its fasteners. 
     It is pointed out that the fastener support member as shown in FIG. 3 may be modified by removing the fabric loop  19  depending from its lower end if the person with handicapped hands is capable of effectuating the closure without the use of that loop. Additionally, the loops  17 ,  17 ′ and  17 ″ on the front face of the support member  11  could also be removed for that same purpose. Therefore, the invention envisages these fastener support members being provided without loops depending on its intended use but an important aspect of the fastener support members is the provision of the Velcro tabs  26  and  27  being disposed in horizontal alignment with the rigid hook fastener  12  and the rigid eye-type fasteners  15 . The interconnection of the Velcro fasteners  26  and  27  would maintain the fastener members  12  and  15  interengaged together. The user person with its handicapped hands would merely apply pressure on the outer fastener support member  11  once the fasteners are engaged to ensure that the Velcro tab fasteners are securely interconnected. 
     It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment described herein, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.